Reciprocating flexible belt for finishing a concrete surface



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H. W. WILSON INVENTOR HERBERT W. WILSON v ATTORNEY RECIPROCATING FLEXIBLE BELT FOR FINISHING A CONCRETE SURFACE Oct. 8, 1968 Filed May 31, 1967 H. W. WILSON Oct. 8, 1968 RECIPROCATING FLEXIBLE BELT FOR FINISHING A CONCRETE SURFACE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 31, 1967 INVENTOR HERBERT W WILSON ATTORNEY a 3,404,61 1 Patented Oct. 8, 1968 ABSTRA-CT on THE DISCLOSURE An elongated flexible belt is reciprocated across a concrete surface while being traversed over the concrete surface by a movable support in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of reciprocation.

Background ojthe invention This invention relates to finishing a wet concrete surface and, more particularly, to the use of a reciprocating fiexible belt for engaging and finishing a concrete surface while the belt is being I traversed over the concrete surface. e n

It is often desirable to employ finishing devices and techniques to finish the surfaces of continuously poured bridge decks, or other relatively large surface concrete bodies such as road beds, where an extremely uniform finish is required. For bridge deck applications, a concrete finishing device should be as light as possible in order not to subject the elevated bridge structure to excessive loads, and yet provide sufficient rigidity to firmly work the concrete. Further, for such applications it is desirable that a surface finishing device be relatively portable and easily assembled, as well as operable without substantial manpower requirements. It is also important that such a. device he adjustable in height and in. length to allow concrete bodies of various dimensions to be finished.

Various devices have heretofore been developed with a view toward satisfying the requirements of finishing such large concrete surfaces after the concrete has been pouredQMany. of these devices have included rigid screed members Whichareen-gaged with the concrete surface and then oscillated or reciprocated in order to work and smooth the concrete surface. However, such previouslydeveloped devices have often not been found to provide completely satisfactory finishing results due to the rigid surface of the s creed members. Additionally, a numberof separate adjustments are often necessary in order to vary the contour of many such rigid screed memhers tcieffect desired crown configurations of the concrete surface.

It has also been generally known to provide a finish to a concrete surface by manual reciprocation of a flexible belt across the concrete surface. An example of such an operation is shown in United States Patent No. 1,234,984. However, such a finishing operation has usually required the services of at least two human operators; often resulting in'a relatively slow, expensive finishing operation. Further, the quality of such a manual finishing job isoften variable in dependency upon the skill and thoroughness of-the human operator.

' summar of "the invention a In accordancewith the present invention, a rigid supportis mounted. over a concrete surface and transversely moved across; the concrete surface in a first sense. An elongated flexible belt is ,carried by the support in a manner sueh that portionsof the belt engage the concrete surface. ,Driving'imeans carried by the support is connected to the flexiblebeltffor reciprocating the concrete surface contacting portions of the belt in a second sense to provide a relatively smooth surface finish. The support may be adjusted in length and in height to accommodate various sizes of concrete surfaces.

Brief description of the drawings For a more complete understanding of the present invention and for further objects and advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE .1 is a front View, partially broken away, of the apparatus of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top view, partially broken away, of the present apparatus;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view of the present apparatus, with portions of the components being shown in phantom; and

FIGURE 4 is an end elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 3 in a different adjusted position.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIGURE. 1 illustrates a front elevational view of the present apparatus including an elongated truss framework designated generally by the numeral 10 and connected at the ends thereof to carriages designed generally by the numerals 12 and 14, respectively. The carriages 12 and 14 are disposed on opposite sides of a freshly poured concrete body 15, which may be for instance a bridge deck or the like. The carriages are adapted to roll along the parallel tracks 16 and 18, spaced along the sides of the concrete body 15 to translate the framework 10 over the wet concrete surface.

An elongated flexible belt 20 is mounted along the lower part of the truss framework 10 for reciprocation across the concrete surface in a sense generally perpendicular to the movement of the framework 10 along tracks 16 and 18. The ends of belt 20 are supported by spaced apart rollers 22 and 24 which are rotatably mounted by suitable pivots to the framework 10. One end of the belt 20 is connected to a rocking support member 26 by means of bolts 28 and gripping bracket 30. The opposite end of the belt 20 is rigidly gripped between brackets 32 and 34 which are joined by suitable bolt connections 36. A cable 37 is afiixed at one end to the bracket 34 and is connected at the other end through one of the aperatures in a disk 38 which is rotatably mounted on the member 26. A pin 40 is adapted to be connected through a suitable aperture in disk 38 to lock its position relative to the member 26 when the desired tension is provided on the cable 37.

Member 26 is pivotally connected to the lower end of a lever 42 which is in turn pivotally mounted on rod 44 connected by brackets 45 and 46 to the top of the truss framework 10. As shown in FIGURE 2, lever 42 includes a top and a bottom portion which are laterally offset from one another. The top of the lever is pivotally connected to a crank arm 47, which is connected at one end to a wheel 48 eccentric to the axis thereof. The wheel 48 is rotated by a large sprocket wheel 50 which is driven by a suitable driving means 52, which not by way of limitation may be for example a gasoline motor, through a chain 54. A guard housing 56 covers the chain drive to prevent injury to the operator. As shown in'FIGURE 2, wheel 48 is connected to sprocket wheel 50 by the axle 48a which is rotatably mounted to the framework 10 by hearing brackets 57.

From an inspection of FIGURE 1, it will be apparent that upon energization of the motor 52 and the associated drive members, the crank arm 47 will be periodically moved to cause the lever 42 to reciprocate member 26 back and forth over a selected-small arc of movement. This will cause reciprocating movement of the ends of flexible belt 20, thereby causing the lower portion of the beltwhichis suspended between the rollers 22 and 24 to engage and work the surface of the concrete with an alternating motion to provide a smooth surface finish thereto. When such reciprocating motion across the concrete surface in one sense is combined with the traverse of the support framework 10 over the concrete surface along tracks 16 and 18 in a second sense, it will be understood that the total surface of the concrete body will be automatically and uniformly finished. The speed of the motor 52 may be regulated in combination with variances in the rate of traverse over the concrete surface by the truss framework 10, in order to selectively vary the type and quality of finish applied to the concrete surface.

Referring now to FIGURE 2 in conjunction with FIG- URE 1, it may be seen that the truss framework 10 is constructed from a pair of parallel metal frame members 58 and 60, which are each made up of a plurality of metal side supports 61 and which are rigidly spaced apart by a plurality of transverse support members 62. A pair of spaced apart rollers 64 and 66 are rotatably supported by a bar 68 on pivots 70 at opposite sides of the belt 20 in order to prevent the belt from slipping off roller 22. Similarly, a pair of rollers 72 and 74 are rotatably supported on opoiste sides of the other end of the belt 20 by a support bar 76 in order to prevent the belt 20 from slipping off the edges of roller 24.

The truss framework 10 is supported upon carriage 12 by members 78 and 80 which rest upon the upper surface of a support 82. Structure is provided to adjust the eflee- K tive length of the framework 10, including the elongated plate 84 which has a number of apertures 86 defined therethrough. A suitable connection bolt 88 rigidly connects the plate 84 to the support bar 82 of carriage 12. In order to adjust the present device for use on a concrete body having different dimensions from the presently illustrated body, bolt 88 is removed and the truss framework 10 moved relative to carriage 12. The bolt 88 is reinserted through a different aperture in plate 84 to again rigidly connect the finishing device for use.

The framework 10 is supported at the other end by members 90 and 92 which rest on the upper surface of the support 94. A pair of bars 96 and 98 connected to framework 10 are spaced apart to define a channel through which a suitable bolt 100 may be connected to the support 94. Bolt 100 can be loosened to allow variance of the relative position of the carriage 14 to the truss framework 10 in order to accommodate concrete bodies of various widths.

FIGURES 3 and 4 illustrate how the present device may be varied in height in order to accommodate various concrete bodies having differing thicknesses. Considering FIGURE 3, carriage 12 includes a pair of wheels 102 and 104 which are configured to roll along the upper portion of track 16. Track 16 is supported by a plurality of similarly constructed jack members 106 which include a threaded portion 108 in order to allow' proper vertical positioning of the track 16. Roller 102 is rotatably connected between a pair of bars 110 and 112 (FIGURE 2), while roller 104 is similarly rotatably'connected between a pair of bars 114 and 116. Both pairs of bars are pivotally con nected at their upper end portions to the support 82. A motor 117 which may be, for example, an electric motor, is directly connected to wheel 104 for providing motive power thereto.

A crank handle 120 is provided with a threaded portion which is threadedly received by nut member 122. The lower end of handle 120 is rotatably received by pivot member 124 which is pivotally connected between the bars 110 and 112. Similarly, a crank handle 126 is threadedly received by the nut member 128 permanently afiixed to the support member 82. The lower end of the crank handle 126 is rotatably received by a member 130 (FIGURE 1) pivotally connected between bars 114 and 116. To adjust the vertical height of framework 10 with respect to the carriage wheels, the crank handles 120 and 126 are manually turned and the nut members 122 and 128 will be moved up and down the length of the threaded portions of the crank handles.

As shown in FIGURE 2, carriage 14 is similar in construction and includes wheels 132 and 134 rotatably connected between pairs of bars 136 and 138. Nut members 140 and 142 are connected to the support 94 and threadedly receive crank handles 144 and 146. The'lower ends of the handles are rotatably received in pivot members 148 and 150. A motor 152 drives wheel 134. Rotation of the crank handles 144 and 146 adjusts the height of the framework in the manner previously described.

FIGURE 3 illustrates how the present device may be adjusted to a relatively high position in order to suitably finish a relatively thick, freshly poured concrete body. Alternatively, FIGURE 4 illustrates the present device in an adjusted lowered position in order to suitably finish a relatively thin freshly poured concrete body. It will of course be clear that the relative height of the elongated flexible belt 20 may be adjusted to any position between the positions illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4.

The present invention thus provides a concrete finishing apparatus having a flexible finishing surface which is automatically reciprocated across a freshly poured concrete surface in order to provide a smooth surface finish. Further, a device constructed in accordance with the present invention has been found to be advantageously utilized in conjunction with the concrete finishing apparatus described in applicants copending application Ser. No. 543,273, previously identified. The flexible nature of the reciprocating belt of the present invention enables concrete surfaces of many different configurations to be finished, including relatively flat surfaces and substantially curved crown configurations, without the requirement of substantial adjustments.

Additionally, the present invention provides easily manipulated adjustments to allow the present device to accomodate many different dimensions and sizes of concrete bodies. Due to the relatively light weight in conjunction with an extremely strong construction, the present device has been found advantageous in use on elevated bridge structures and the like. Although electrical motors have been disclosed for propelling the present device along parallel tracks, it will be understood that the present device could be manually moved over the concrete surface, or alternatively could be pulled behind a reciprocating rigid screed device such as disclosed in applicants previously described application.

Whereas the present specification has been described in considerable detail with respect to a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that this description is merely for purposes of illustration and that changes or variations in the described embodiment may be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the true scope and spirit of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for finishing a concrete surface comprising:

(a) an elongated rigid framework,

(b) carriage means supporting opposite ends of said framework for movement of said framework in a horizontal plane along parallel tracks disposed on opposite sides of the concrete surface,

(c) a cylindrical roller mounted for free rotation about a horizontal axis on each said opposite end of said framework,

(d) an elongated flexible belt having a first portion extending horizontally along said framework under said cylindrical rollers for contact with the concrete surface and having second portions each passing around an outer curved surface of one of said cylindrical rollers to extend above said cylindrical rollers toward the middle of said framework,

(e) motor means rigidly connected on said framework,

and (f) cable means connected between one end of said belt and said motor means and the other end of said belt being connected to said motor means for periodically rolling said second portinos in alternate directions over the freely rotating cylindrical rollers to cause reciprocation of said first portion of said flexible belt across hte concrete surface for finishing thereof. 2. The combination according to claim 1 and further comprising means connected between said carriage means and said framework for varying the effective longitudinal length of said framework.

3. The combination according to claim 2 and further comprising:

structure connected to the end portions of said framework having openings defined therein, and

connector means adapted to pass through said openings to be fixedly received by said carriage means, said openings being configured to allow selective adjustment of the longitudinal position of said framework relative to said carriage means.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said carriage means includes motor means for translating said framework along the parallel tracks.

5. The combination according to claim 1 wherein each of said carriage means comprises adjustment means for varying the height of said framework in relation to the parallel tracks.

6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein said adjustment means comprises:

a support member rigidly connected to said framework,

first and second bar members each pivotally connected at one end to said support member and carrying wheel means on another end, and

crank means having threaded portions received by said support member and connected at end portions thereof to said bar members for varying the spacing between said support member and said wheel means.

7. The combination according to claim 1 wherein means is connected between one end of said cable means and said belt for varying the tension applied to said belt.

8. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said motor means comprises:

a motor rigidly connected to said framework, and

crank means connected between said motor and said belt for reciprocating longitudinal portions of said belt across the concrete surface.

9. The combination according to claim 8 wherein said crank means comprises:

a rotatable shaft having an enlarged diameter end portion,

an arm member eccentrically pivoted at one end to said end portion, and

a pivotally mounted lever connected at one end to said arm member and at the other end to said belt.

10. Apparatus for finishing a concrete surface comprising:

(a) an elongated rigid framework,

(b) carriage means supporting opposite ends of said framework for movement of said framework in a horizontal plane along parallel tracks disposed on opposite sides of the concrete surface,

(0) a cylindrical roller mounted for free rotation about a horizontal axis on each of said opposite end of said framework,

((1) an elongated flexible belt having a first portion extending horizontally along said framework under said cylindrical rollers for contact with the concrete surface and having second portions each passing around an outer curved surface of one of said cylindrical rollers to extend above said cylindrical rollers toward the middle of said framework,

(e) motor means rigidly connected on said framework,

(f) means connecting the output of said motor means to said second portions of said belt for periodically rolling said second portions in alternate directions over the freely rotating cylindrical rollers to cause reciprocation of said first portion of said flexible belt across the concrete surface for finishing thereof, and

(g) roller means mounted at opposite sides of each said cylindrical roller for maintaining said second portions of said flexible belt in the desired position about the outer curved surfaces of said cylindrical rollers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,584,385 5/ 1926 Lichtenberg 94-45 1,662,257 3/ 1928 Valerie 9445 1,817,687 8/1931 Heltzel.

1,945,145 1/ 1934 Gordon 94-48 2,054,263 9/1936 McCrery 94-45 2,187,080 1/1940 Heltzel 94-45 2,754,732 7/1956 Beyer 94-45 2,988,971 6/1961 Louckes 94-45 3,110,234 11/1963 Oster 94-45 3,182,572 5/1965 Kubala 9445 JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner. 

